Into the Light
by TheFallenNightAngel
Summary: Adalina Kensire is really Adalina Erskine. She's the great-great granddaughter of Abraham Erskine, the creator of the super soldier serum. She's spent her life hiding from HYDRA. She meets Captain America one day and begins to fall for him. She starts to get caught up in the mess of SHIELD and HYDRA. What happens when HYDRA captures her to recreate the serum? (I don't own Marvel!)
1. Chapter 1: Truth

I trudged up the stairs to my apartment. It was late at night and I was absolutely exhausted. I worked at a diner as a waitress. It was a really difficult job. Customers were rude, some of the chefs were snippy, and a few of the managers were downright nasty. I never got any recognition or credit for my work. But it pays the bills and it keeps me off the streets. Sometimes you gotta take what you're given.

"Hey, you just getting off now?" one of my elderly lady neighbors asked, passing me in the hallway.

"Yeah," I responded, giving her a smile. I didn't mind the old folks in my apartment building. They were all nice and kept an eye on my apartment for me when I was working.

"Don't work too hard. Pretty girl like you should be going on dates," the lady said with a wink before disappearing into her apartment.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled under my breath. "As if I could find one," I muttered.

I yanked my apartment key out from the bottom of my purse. I unlocked my door and slammed it shut behind me once I was inside. I untied my waitress apron, bunched it up into a ball of fabric, and tossed it in my coat closet. I looked at my apartment and sighed. It wasn't much. A small living room, a kitchen, a small bedroom, and a bathroom. Not bad, but definitely not the best. Trying to find a cheap rental apartment in New York that's half decent is nearly impossible.

I plopped down on couch and rubbed my eyes. I wished that I could live in a nicer place than this, but I just couldn't. My mother had died when I was 16 in a car crash, leaving me to fend for myself. She left me a enormous amount of money that I used to go to college. I used it all up to get majors in various sciences and medicine, which followed my family's footsteps. Now that I was 25, I hadn't done anything of those. I couldn't. I didn't have any money.

Thinking of my degrees reminded me of something. Something I hadn't thought of in a long time. I got off the couch and went to my bedroom. I pulled up a loose floorboard underneath my bed. I took out a shoebox from the space and put it on my bed. I pulled out pieces of paper, photos, and old newspaper clippings. One of the clippings was from 1943. It said 'Dr. Abraham Erskine, creator of the super soldier serum, killed today by a HYDRA agent'. I looked at one of the photos. It was a picture of my great grandmother standing next to Abraham Erskine.

I suppose I should explain all of this.

My name is Adalina Kensire. But my real last name is Erskine. Yes, I'm related to Dr. Abraham Erskine. I'm his great granddaughter to be exact. My great grandmother was his wife.

You might be wondering why I changed my last name.

After Abraham Erskine died, HYDRA came after the Erskine family. They thought that family members would be able to recreate the super soldier serum. Truth be told, I don't even know if we could. Although, everyone who was descended from the elder Erskines ended up being gifted in science. (Yes, including me)

This is where it starts to get messy.

My mother and I lived alone together. My father left us when I was very young. Anyways, my mother and I had a very nice life together. That was until I was 16. She was killed in a car accident. But I knew it wasn't an accident. I knew HYDRA was behind it. After that, I was extra careful to not be found by HYDRA. I anagrammed Erskine into Kensire. It was like hiding in plain sight. I had always wanted to track down the man my great grandfather had used the super soldier serum on, Steve Rogers (also known as Captain America). I was scared that that would lead HYDRA straight to me though. So I kept my distance. Once in a while, I'd see him on the news.

So that's my story.

I turned on the TV to watch the late night news. I narrowed my eyes at the screen. The main story was 'Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, SHIELD, taken down by major terrorist group, HYDRA'. Pictures of Captain America flashed on the screen. The reporter went on to talk about how HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD. I didn't even know this SHIELD existed.

"_SHIELD is currently facing massive lawsuits and questions from the United States government. Word is that SHIELD's former director, Nick Fury, has left the organization. Rumors are flying around as to if this is true or not. More on this later..._"

HYDRA. HYDRA was back. I needed to hide myself even better than before.

* * *

**Authors Note: Hello readers! This is TheFallenNightAngel taking a stab at yet another fanfiction. The idea for this story popped into my head a few days ago and I couldn't get it out. So, I sat down and started writing it. The more I wrote, the better it sounded. This takes place after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It will eventually include all of the Avengers. So what do you think about Adalina so far? Don't worry, Adalina will meet Cap soon! I hope you all enjoy this story. Criticism, suggestions, and comments are always welcome. **


	2. Chapter 2: Work

Have you ever tried running through the streets of New York City wearing high heels because you're going to be late for your job? Well, I don't recommend it.

I overslept because I was up late doing research on HYDRA. I had sifted through pages and pages of news articles online to try and learn more about the organization. All of the recent articles were about HYDRA destroying SHIELD. Nearly every article had a picture of Captain America pasted onto them. Seeing those pictures made me want to track Steve Rogers down even more. I had to keep telling myself that I needed to keep my distance to stay safe.

I pushed open the door to the diner I worked at. As I headed to the back room to sign in for the day, I made sure my outfit was in perfect shape. It consisted of a black skirt, a white blouse. Casual, but still sophisticated. The diner was actually really nice. It was more upscale than typical diners. I was lucky, I could've been working at one of those scuzzy diners.

I scribbled my name on the sign in sheet and looked at where I'd be waitressing today. I saw that I was stationed to wait on the tables along the front windows. That was my favorite place to wait on people because I could see outside. It seemed almost childish that I liked to look outside, but it kept the day interesting.

I neatly set the tables with napkins and silverware. If there were 3 things I'd learned from waitressing, they'd be that I could set a really nice table, I had extreme patience with idiots, and I could make a good pot of coffee. Well, you gotta learn somewhere, right?

Once I was finished, I went to the podium at the front where I assigned people to their tables. I pulled out my notebook where I wrote down orders and ripped out an empty page. I started writing out random scientific equations and numbers. I had to keep up my studies of science and medicine if I wanted to ever get a job in either of those fields someday. I spent a good part of my paychecks on science and medicinal books. Once an Erskine, always an Erskine. Oops, I meant Kensire.

This morning was pretty quiet, we only got one or 2 customers and they weren't sitting in my group of tables that I was stationed at. I got the chance to work out a particularly nasty equation which I hadn't been able to figure out yet. I looked up from my intense scientific math when I heard the door open. A tall man with blonde hair was standing in front of me. Not the kind of person that you'd usually see at this kind of diner. It was a nice change for once. He was kind of...well, I don't usually care about these things, but he was pretty handsome.

"Good morning, just a table for you?" I asked, polite as always. The man looked familiar, I just couldn't put a name to the face. I'd met a lot of people from waitressing, so my guess was that he had come here before and I recognized him.

"Yes, thank you," he answered.

I put him at one of the nicer tables that had a view of the streets of New York.

"Hm, looks like Apple's making another iPhone," I said, spotting a billboard advertising a brand new model of an iPhone.

"Excuse me?" the man asked, looking confused.

"Ah, nothing," I said, awkwardly. "Um, I'm Adalina and I'll be your server today. What can I get you?" I stated, starting my usual speech.

"Well, I'm actually just hanging around for a friend, so maybe just a cup of coffee?" he told me.

"Sure," I replied, writing it down in my notebook. I went to the kitchen to make the coffee. I stupidly spilled hot water on my hand. I tried not to screech really loud. I'm pretty sure I let a couple of swears out though. I hoped my manager hadn't heard.

"Here you go," I said, handing him a mug. My hand still stung from the hot water spilling on it.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

I turned to leave him alone, but I couldn't help asking him something. "Excuse me for asking, but you look really familiar. Do I know you?" I asked.

A momentary look of panic flashed in his eyes. "Um, no I don't think so. But you also look very familiar."

That threw me a curveball. I looked familiar to him? Weird.

"Have you been to this diner before? Maybe that's where we've seen each other," I reasoned.

He shook his head. "This is the first time."

"Oh, well then, must be just coincidental. Nice talking to you," I said with a small smile, placing the bill down on the table before walking away. I was so confused! Then it hit me like a bag full of bricks. He was a spitting image of Captain America. WHAT. I stole a quick glance over my shoulder at him. I tried to calm myself down. It probably wasn't him. It was probably one of the 7 look-alikes of him. Right?

I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he left some money on the table and signed the bill.

"Thank you," he said, before walking out.

I rushed over to the table to get the bill. I saw that he left me a pretty decent tip. I knew I probably shouldn't look at it just to see what his name was, but I really couldn't help it. I picked up the money and peered at the scribbled signature.

I almost passed out when I saw what it said.

There, in blue pen, was the name Steve Rogers. 

* * *

**Authors Note: I'm so happy that everyone seems to like this story so far! Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and follows. SunnyDay64, Adalina's name is pronounced Add-a-lean-a. Sorry for the confusion! fluttershypegasus1, it's not set in the same universe as my other story. I think that would be a bit confusing, at least to me. As much as I love Arya (the character from my other story), she doesn't really fit in this one. Again, thank you all for the support so far! So it looks like Adalina has met Cap...what do you think is going to happen next?**


	3. Chapter 3: Talk

Steve Rogers had just had a full fledged conversation with me and I didn't even realize it? Well shit, this is serious.

I had a tiny moment of panic. In all of the years I'd been alive and living in New York, I'd never come across Captain America. Maybe I'd been letting my guard down over time, being less careful. It's certainly possible. Had I really thought I could walk around freely and that I was perfectly safe?

I shook away that thought. I was just scaring myself. It was just a coincidence. But hey, I met Steve Rogers! That doesn't happen every day.

I was still thinking about the whole thing when I was back at my apartment later that day. I could barely comprehend the fact that I had finally met the man my great grandfather had used the super soldier serum on. I had that urge stronger than ever to track him down again and tell him that I was a descendant from Dr. Erskine. Stop kidding yourself Adalina, you could never do that. The news of HYDRA had shaken me up pretty bad.

I sighed and put my computer away. I was looking through as much information of the super soldier serum I could find. Various scientists, doctors, experimental groups, and other people have tried over the years to recreate the serum. I had an entire folder on it. I've never tried to recreate it. I'm terrified that if I do, it would be catastrophic and I'd end up hurting more people rather than helping. Like that incident of the whole Hulk thing with the gamma rays. Besides, if I did, HYDRA would be breathing down my back ready to recruit me.

I decided that I was going to go to the book store and read some of the science books they had there that I couldn't afford. That was my strategic plan: I went to a bookstore, took a few notes from the books, and then left once I had learned what I wanted to know. Pretty cool, huh?

I hurried down the stairs of my apartment and hit the streets. It was getting late. The sun was just setting, turning the sky red, orange, and pink. I couldn't resist stopping in one of the parks that was lined with trees to admire the sunset. I walked by the park benches, seeing that some people were still out. There was one person who was wearing a black trench coat and a fedora. I thought that was strange since it was spring time. Oh well, who am I to judge?

"Evening Miss," the man said, walking by me.

I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

I continued on through the park. I sat down on one of the benches and took in the beautiful skyline. I could stare for hours at the swirling colors.

A man on the next bench over was sketching the trees and clouds. From what I could see, he was extremely talented. The shading techniques made it look like you were looking at a black and white photo of the scene. I quickly averted my gaze away when the man turned to look at me.

"Excuse me, but are you the woman from the diner?" he asked.

I looked up and found myself looking at Steve Rogers's blue eyes.

"Y-yes, I am," I stuttered.

"What a coincidence running into you again," he said with a small smile. "I don't think I formally introduced myself. Steve Rogers," he stated, holding his hand out.

"Adalina...Kensire," I said, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you Adalina. That's a pretty name," Steve remarked.

"Thank you, it's German," I smiled, deciding that it would be okay to say that.

"German, huh? I knew some great guys that were German," he said, sounding almost nostalgic.

"My whole family is German," I told him. "I can speak a little bit of."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really? That's handy."

I laughed. "Only if you live in Germany."

"So what's a girl like you doing out at this time?" Steve asked curiously.

"I was going to go to the bookstore but I couldn't help stopping to admire the sunset," I replied, pointing up at the sky.

He nodded, looking at his sketch.

All of a sudden, I started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Steve asked with a confused look.

"Of all the years I've lived in New York City, I've never had the privilege of talking to Captain America," I said in between laughs.

"I try to keep a low profile," he said. "Although a lot more people have been recognizing me."

"I can understand why. You know, the whole thing with SHIELD and HYDRA that's been on the news would obviously make it so more people would know what you look like. It's sort of like a causation and correlation thing," I commented, swinging into full science mode. "Oh, sorry," I said blushing.

"That's alright. Isn't causation and correlation a scientific term?"

"Yes, it is."

"You're a scientist?" Steve guessed.

I shook my head. "I think like one and I want to be one, but I'm not."

"Meaning?"

"I went to college and studied science and medicine but I haven't actually done anything with it yet. Someday it'll happen I guess," I shrugged.

"You will someday. Just keep working at it," he said encouragingly.

"Thanks," I said softly.

We kept talking until I realized that I had been talking with Steve for a good 30 minutes. I found it really easy to talk to him. He listened to what I had to say and thoughtful answered. I was fascinated with everything he said. The way he talked was so different than what I was used to in most guys these days. I probably was starry eyed the whole time. I mentally slapped myself back to reality. Why was I acting so weird?

"It's getting kind of late, I guess I should be heading back to my apartment," I sighed reluctantly, looking at my watch.

"Want me to walk you there? It's dark out," Steve offered.

"You don't have to," I said quickly.

"It's not a problem," he reassured me.

"Well, if you really want to..."

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I want to," he said.

As we walked, we talked about various things. Nothing really about ourselves but more about recent news or friends. We soon came to a stop in front of my apartment building.

"This is me," I said, staring up at the building. I felt a bit self conscious of where I lived. I rarely brought people to my apartment.

"It was nice to meet you Adalina," Steve told me, smiling at me.

"You too Steve. Maybe we could..." I trailed off, not wanting to be too forward.

"Meet up again sometime?" he filled in the blank.

I shook my head laughing. "Yes, exactly. Here, stick out your arm."

He gave me a puzzled look but did as I said. I pulled out a Sharpie marker from my purse and wrote my number down on his arm. Then I handed the marker to him and stuck out my arm. "Your turn."

Steve chuckled and wrote his number on my arm.

"Now you can't get rid of it for a couple of days so you'll remember to actually call me," I said with a grin.

He nodded before reaching out and touching my hand briefly before drawing back. "See you around."

"See ya," I said, heading up to my apartment. When I got inside my apartment, I peered through the windows that faced the street and watched Steve head back down the street. I leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. What just happened?

* * *

**Authors Note: I'm so happy that I'm getting a lot of positive reviews on this story! THANK YOU. I hope you all like this chapter. Don't worry, the action will start to pick up in the next couple of chapters. Plus, Adalina will eventually meet all of the Avengers. Suggestions, comments, and criticism are always welcome. **


	4. Chapter 4: Meet

"3.14159265..." I muttered under my breath, tapping my pencil against my piece of paper. I was trying to calculate an ending for pi. (Not like, apple pie. The mathematic equation) So far, no luck. I'd been working for so many years to try and find an end to pi. Of course, I totally ignored the Wikipedia page that said that there were 12 trillion digits of pi that have been calculated so far. I wonder how Archimedes (the creator of pi) figured out how to even calculate it. The dude must have been a freaking genius.

My phone buzzed with a new text message alert. I saw that it was from an unknown number.

_Hey Adalina, it's Steve. I was wondering if you were around and wanted to hang out? _the message said.

My heart started beating just a bit faster. It had been a week since I met Steve and I was hesitant to text him. I didn't really want to bother him or be a nuisance. I had started to worry that he wouldn't ever text me.

_Sure, I'd love to. When and where? _I texted back.

_Where are you now? I'm just out and about in the city, _he replied.

I quickly texted what café I was at. _I'm sitting outside at the first table,_ I added.

_I'll be there in 10 minutes,_ was his response.

I found myself grinning like a crazy person at my phone. Stop that Adalina! Don't turn into one of those giggling girls who get all mushy when they meet a guy. Sheesh. I've never been like that and I've got no idea why I am now. STOP.

I took a sip of my fancy schmancy drink that cost me a small fortune (that's what you get for ordering a drink at an outside café in New York). My knee kept bouncing up and down from excitement. I tried to continue with my calculations of pi, but I couldn't focus anymore.

"Hey stranger," a familiar voice said a few minutes later.

I looked up and saw Steve standing in front of me.

"Hey Steve," I said with a smile. "Have a seat if you want," I said, gesturing towards the empty seat across from me.

"Thanks," he replied, sitting down. He looked up at the clear blue sky. "Nice view, huh?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I'm not a big fan of looking up and seeing that Stark Tower is blocking my view," I said, pointing up at the giant tower.

"I didn't like it at first either, but it's growing on me," Steve laughed.

"Don't you live there?" I asked. "What's it like?"

"Big," Steve said simply.

I burst out laughing. "That's one word to describe it."

He picked up my piece of paper with my pi calculations on it. "What's this?"

I snatched it out of his hand. "Um, nothing. Just some...stuff."

"I didn't know that's what 'nothing' looked like," he said cheekily, grinning at me.

I sighed and gave it back to him. "I was trying to find the end of pi."

"Pi? As in 3.1415?" he asked.

"Yup."

"I never really understood what pi was supposed to stand for," Steve said. "When I was in school a long, long time ago, it wasn't such a big deal."

"Well, it's the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter," I said. "It was first calculated by Archimedes who was this dude who lived in the BC time period," I said excitedly, slipping into full scientist/geek mode until I realized that I was rambled on and on about it. "Oops, sorry," I mumbled.

"No, keep going. It's really interesting," Steve said, leaning forward.

"Um, okay, well, pi is usually represented in math with this symbol," I explained, drawing the symbol on a napkin. "Pi is actually an irrational number. Apparently the decimals never end and they don't fall into a repeating pattern. So far, everyone's found that the numbers are just slapped down in random order. I want to try and find a pattern and maybe even find an end to it," I said, moving my hands animatedly. What can I say? I get really into this kind of stuff.

"So have you had any luck yet finding some sort of pattern?" Steve asked, tapping my drawing of the pi symbol.

I shook my head. "Not yet, but I'm working on it."

"I like the way you explain things, you're really passionate about what you do," Steve commented, smiling at me.

I blushed and ducked my head shyly. "Thanks."

"You'll have to teach me some things that I've missed in the past 70 years," he said. "I have a feeling that you'd be the best one to qualify to teach me how to use a smartphone."

"Sure, why not?" I laughed.

We continued talking about pi, smartphones, and ridiculously expensive latte drinks until a man in a suit stopped at our table.

"Well, well, well, never thought I'd see you with a female," the man said, taking off his sunglasses.

Steve sighed. "What are you doing here Tony?"

Wait, Tony?

"Just out and about the city. Who's this?" he asked, gesturing towards me.

"Tony, this is Adalina. Adalina, this is Tony Stark," Steve introduced.

I stuck my hand out. "Hi, I'm Adalina. Nice to meet you Mr. Stark."

He shook my hand. "Don't call me Mr. Stark, it makes me sound old. Nice catch Capsicle, she's hot," Tony said, winking at Steve.

I felt a blush creeping into my cheeks again. "We just met last week," I said quickly.

"Yeah, shut up Tony," Steve said, but good naturedly.

"I'll leave you 2 to your business," Tony smirked, walking away.

"Do I even want to ask?" I said when he was gone.

"No, you don't," Steve replied with a small laugh.

"I just met Iron Man," I said in awe. "Whoa."

"Trust me, he's not all that he's made out to be," Steve told me.

"Oh I know. He's never really been my favorite Avenger anyways," I said, shrugging.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Who's your favorite?"

"Um...Captain America," I said softly.

"What'd you say? I didn't catch that," Steve said with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Captain America," I said a little louder.

A happy, pleased look spread across his face. "Why? I mean, great, but why me?"

I swirled the remainder of my drink around in the paper cup. "I don't know, I just do," I said evasively. I couldn't say the real reason why I did. The real reason why I he was my favorite was because I had a special connection to him. One that could kill me if I wasn't careful. 

* * *

**Authors Note: Thank you all SO much for the love for this story. It means so much to me! I can't wait to get further into this story. I think it'll be a lot more action-packed then my last story. It's still pretty early, but I'm starting to ship Adalina and Steve...what about you guys? ;) By the way, all of this information about pi is accurate! I did some research and used some of my own knowledge. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	5. Chapter 5: Danger

"That'll be $24.50," I said with a smile, handing a woman customer the bill.

"Thank you very much," the woman replied.

I walked away and started tidying up the stacks of coffee mugs. I dried off the newly washed cups and added them to the stacks. I looked up when I heard the door to the diner open.

"Good morning, ho-" I stopped when I saw that it was Steve. "Hey Steve!"

"Hey Adalina. I thought I'd drop in and see how you were," he said with a smile.

"I'm great! I'm actually about to be on my break right now. Sit down and I'll go grab you a cup of coffee," I said, returning his smile.

On my way to the kitchen, I stopped to grab the woman's bill.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the woman whispered to me.

I felt myself blush. "Oh no, he's just a friend."

The woman gave me a sly look. "He's a handsome one, huh?"

I stifled a laugh and shook my head. "I'll remain impartial on that one. Thanks for coming in today."

"No problem. And if you ask me, you two would make a nice couple," she said before leaving.

I grabbed 2 mugs and filled them with coffee, slipping a bit of cream and sugar into mine. I went back out to where Steve was sitting.

"Here you go," I said, sliding into the seat across from him. I handed him a mug.

"Thanks," he said. "So what've you been up to lately?"

I shrugged. "Nothing really. Same ol' stuff. Mostly working."

He nodded. "I can understand that. I've been getting a lot of time off lately though. I guess the whole thing with SHIELD and HYDRA warrants me a break."

"True, yes," I replied. I didn't like getting so close to the topic of HYDRA. I always tried to steer clear of talking about it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man looking through the window of the café. He was wearing all black. Something was nagging me in the back of my head, but I ignored it.

"So have you found an end to pi yet?" he asked.

I looked up in surprise. "You remembered?"

"Of course I remembered," he chuckled. "You talked about it for nearly an hour. Besides, I listen to everything you say," Steve said, saying the last part with a twinge of embarrassment.

I let out a nervous laugh. "No, I haven't. But you just wait and see, I will."

He looked at his watch. "Hey, I've got to go. I'm meeting a friend in a few minutes. It was really nice seeing you," he said, reaching out and touching my arm.

"You too," I replied softly. "Stop by anytime or text me."

"I will," he reassured me, standing up.

* * *

I stood at the door to my apartment, jamming my key into the keyhole. The door swung open without me even unlocking it. I was instantly confused. Why was my door unlocked? I shrugged it off, thinking that I must've forgotten to lock it when I left for work this morning. I went into my apartment and locked the door.

I flipped on all of the lights and turned on the TV. I had a feeling that someone was watching me. I looked around, feeling wicked paranoid. I even went over to the window to see if there was someone on the ledge. Of course, there wasn't anyone. How stupid was I? I laughed at myself.

I plopped down on the couch and opened up my notebook with all of my pi calculations in it. I scribbled down some more ideas I had.

All of a sudden, I felt something cold touch the back of my neck.

"Hello Miss Kensire," a voice said. "Or should I say, Erskine."

I whipped my head around and found myself looking at the same man who was at the park the other day and looking through the window of the diner today.

"W-who are you?" I stuttered, backing away from him.

He kept the gun aimed at me. "No one you need to know. I'm here to ask you a favor Miss Erskine. You see, HYDRA requires your brilliant mind. You are related to the original creator of the super soldier serum. If anyone will be able to recreate it, it will be you."

Despite the scariness of the situation, I choked out a harsh laugh.

"Me? Work with HYDRA? Hell no," I said flatly. "Now get out of my apartment."

The man took another step closer.

"Oh Miss Erskine, you do not realize the situation here. If you help HYDRA, we will most definitely return the favor," he said. "Don't you want a better life than what you have?" He gestured to my apartment. "You could be a real scientist. You wouldn't have to work as a waitress anymore. The world would finally see your brilliance."

I'll admit it, I was tempted for half a second to say yes. Then after that half second, I realized how much of a dumbass this guy was.

"Well, as nice as that sounds, I'm going to have to say no," I said in a sweet voice, reaching behind me discreetly.

He rested his index finger on the trigger of the gun. "Miss Erskine, it would be much easier if we both cooperated."

"Sorry, not today," I said with a near maniacal grin. I grabbed the heaviest thing I could find behind me (which happened to be a very large science textbook) and threw it at him. I dropped to the floor, knowing that he'd try to shoot me. Of course, I was right. Shot after shot rang out above my head. I heard him hit the floor and groan in pain. I took this moment to throw another book at him for good measure. I punched him in the head (wow, I'm getting violent...) and took the gun out of his hand. Suddenly people were pounding at my apartment door, trying to get in. I grabbed my phone out my purse and went to my bedroom. I locked the door and sank down to the floor.

What. The. Heck. Is. Happening.

I squeezed my eyes shut. My past, heck, not even my past, was coming back to haunt me. I knew that something was going to happen someday, but I didn't think it'd happen like this. I'd never been more terrified in my life. There was only one thing I could do.

With shaking hands, I dialed Steve's number.

"_Hello?_"

I'd never been so relieved to hear his voice.

"S-Steve, something's happening," I said, trying to keep my voice down.

"_What's happening Adalina?_" Steve asked, instantly worried.

"Some guy from HYDRA is after me. He came into my apartment and pointed a gun at me," I said, staring at the gun.

"_Shit, okay, where are you now? Are you okay? What did you do?_"

"I locked myself in my bedroom. I'm fine and I...well, I threw a book at his head and punched him. I-I think he's unconscious. But there's people outside my apartment trying to get in," I said, my voice wobbling.

"_Stay where you are. I'm on my way right now,_" he said. "_Just hang on for a few minutes._"

"O-okay," I whispered, hugging my knees to my chest. The call ended.

A few minutes went by. I heard my apartment door break open. I wedged a book (books are handy, aren't they?) in the crack of the door to keep them from getting to me. I grabbed a backpack and started shoving clothes and random things that were special to me. When I was finished packing, I put my ear to the door to listen to what the HYDRA agents were saying.

"This'll flush her out," a man said. I heard a few noises and then a ticking noise. The apartment door opened and then slammed shut.

I unlocked my bedroom door and looked out warily. Sitting in the middle of my apartment was a...was that a...

I crept closer and looked at it. I gasped and drew back. I scrambled for the door as fast as I could.

It was a bomb that was going to explode in exactly 15 minutes.

* * *

**Authors Note: DUN DUN DUNNNNN. I think you guys are going to love the next few chapters. I've got so many thoughts to put into this story. I didn't want Adalina to be one of those girls who are all like "Oh, I'm helpless. I can't take care of myself and I don't punch dudes." Nah, Adalina's like me. She's got backbone and isn't afraid to stand up for herself or anyone. Besides, books are good self defensive weapons. Haha! **


	6. Chapter 6: Explode

I didn't think, I just ran. I ran as fast as I could up and down the halls and stairways of my apartment building, pounding on doors and yelling at people to get out. I kept looking at my watch to see how much time I had. 10 minutes.

"Please, you have to get out of here now," I said to everyone. "You have to believe me."

Luckily, my apartment building wasn't all that large. It was an older, smaller building. I was on the last floor (the top floor) when Steve finally appeared.

"Adalina! What's going on?" he asked frantically, holding his shield.

"I don't know. HYDRA found me," I said, so scared that I forgot that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone who I was. As soon as I said that, I immediately wanted to take the words back. Steve gave me a confused look but didn't ask questions. "And there's an explosive in my apartment that's gonna blow in..." I looked at my watch. "6 minutes."

"Okay, we'll figure the whole HYDRA thing out later. We need to get out of here," he said, taking me by the arm.

"No! The HYDRA agents said that the bomb was to flush me out. If we go through any of the exits, they'll be there waiting for us," I said, panicking.

"I can probably break through their line of defenses. We need to be far enough away in distance so that the explosion doesn't hurt us. When we get to the exit, run for cover. Don't wait for me," he said, heading for the stairwell.

I hurried after him, clutching my backpack.

When we got to the emergency exit on the ground floor, I checked my watch again. "3 minutes," I relayed.

He slammed his shield against the deadbolt and pushed it open. As expected, there was a line of HYDRA agents with guns trained on us.

Steve stood in front of me defensively. "Remember what I said," he told me.

I nodded in response, my hands shaking from nervousness and fear.

Steve threw his shield like a Frisbee at a cluster of HYDRA agents. They immediately were rendered unconscious. The shield bounced off a few more agents before Steve caught it. A group of agents fired their guns at us, but he covered us with the shield. He engaged the remaining agents in hand to hand combat, knocking them out easily.

I started to run as far away as I could, but a stray HYDRA agent trained his gun on me.

"Don't move," he said.

I swallowed back a lump of fear that was growing in my throat.

"You might want to duck," I said, forcing myself to be calm.

The man turned around and didn't have time to react before Steve's shield nailed him right in the face.

"Adalina, are you okay?" Steve asked, coming over to examine me.

"I'm fine," I reassured him.

That's when the building exploded. Flames consumed the entire apartment building, eating it up.

The force of the explosion knocked us both back. Flaming debris and pieces of shrapnel hit us. Steve did his best to cover us with his shield, but I could feel every impact. My brain was fuzzy from the explosion. I could feel throbbing pain course through my arms. I vaguely heard voices around me, but I couldn't figure out who was talking.

"..._be okay?_"

"_No idea..._"

"_...hear me Adalina?_"

Through blurry vision, I saw the blue sky, clouded with gray smoke. I felt myself being lifted up. I tried to formulate words, but nothing would come out. I let myself slowly slip into unconsciousness.

* * *

I forced my eyes open, wincing at the bright light that was above me. I blinked a few times. I coughed, feeling like my chest was full of smoke. For a second, I was disorientated and confused. Where was I? What happened? Then it hit me. HYDRA found me. They blew up my apartment. Oh. Right.

"Adalina," I heard a voice say. That voice sounded familiar.

"Adalina, can you hear me?" the voice said persistently.

I turned my head and saw Steve sitting in a chair next to wherever I was laying.

"Hi," I croaked, coughing again.

"How do you feel?" he asked worriedly.

"Like a million bucks," I said sarcastically. I lifted my arms up. They were covered in bandages. I looked down and saw that my stomach was covered in bandages too. "What the hell happened to me?"

Steve sighed and looked down. "Some shrapnel from the explosion pierced your skin. Nothing major though, just some nasty gashes. Your arms have burns on them. You'll be okay if you're careful."

I closed my eyes for a second. I was getting too overwhelmed by everything right now.

"Hey, you okay?" I heard him ask.

"Yep, perfectly fine," I said, opening my eyes again. "Where are we by the way? How long have I been out?"

"Stark Tower and just a few hours," Steve replied.

The first part got my attention. "What?"

"We're at Stark Tower," he said slowly, as if I couldn't understand him. Which I couldn't, actually.

"Stark Tower? As in, like, Tony Stark's tower?" I said in disbelief. "What're we doing here?"

Steve gave me an amused smile. "I think you forget that I live her when I'm in New York."

I face-palmed myself. "Ohhhhhh. Right. My bad," I said sheepishly.

He shook his head. "It's okay."

I looked around the room. It looked like it was possibly a spare bedroom or something like that. Aside from that, it was the size of my entire apartment.

"We need to talk about what happened," Steve said, leaning forward. "I don't want to pry, but why do you think HYDRA was there?"

I sat up and ran a hand through my messed up hair. "I don't know?" I stuttered, trying to make it sound like I didn't know anything.

Steve gave me a look that said: 'C'mon, we both know that's not true'.

"Well...I kind of have a connection with HYDRA," I said hesitantly.

"Was one of your parents or something a HYDRA agent?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"I-I can't tell you," I whispered. "It's too dangerous."

"Adalina, I promise you that I won't hate you if you tell me. If you tell me, SHIELD and I can help protect you from them. Please," Steve said, reaching out and touching my hand.

"Promise you won't let anything happen?" I asked, looking at him.

"Promise."

I let the secret that I'd been holding in for so many years out.

"My name isn't Adalina Kensire. It's Adalina Erskine."

* * *

**Authors Note: WHOA. Tons of stuff going on right now! How do you think Steve's going to react to her telling him who she is? Don't ya just looooove cliffhangers? (I'm so evil...)**


	7. Chapter 7: Confess

_"My name isn't Adalina Kensire. It's Adalina Erskine."_

The confusion on Steve's face slowly morphed shock.

"Erskine?" he asked, looking at me in disbelief.

I nodded. "Erskine."

"Then that means you're related to Abraham Erskine," Steve said.

"I'm his great-great granddaughter. My great grandmother was married to him," I explained briefly.

Steve was silent for a few moments. In fact, he was silent for so long, I was afraid that he was mad.

"Steve?" I asked worriedly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said, not meanly but almost hurt.

"I couldn't," I said. "HYDRA would've found me a lot sooner than they did if I told people."

"But I could've helped you and protected you," Steve protested.

"You don't understand," I said, my voice rising slightly. I was starting to get annoyed with him. Didn't he understand the risks?

"I understand just fine. You kept this from me. I thought I could trust you," Steve told me, giving me a hard look.

"Steve, I wanted to but..." I trailed off, not sure that anything I said would change it.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. I just...that's a lot to take in right now. I have to go and take care of some things. Come out and meet everyone when you feel ready on the main floor. Ask JARVIS to show you where it is," he said, getting up and leaving the room.

I watched him go wistfully. I hope that I didn't just wreck the one good friendship I had going for me. I guess I didn't really break it to him gently. Whoops, my bad. Anyways, I felt bad that I made him upset. Of course he'd be disorientated about me mentioning something from his past.

I stood up and went to the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and stared at my reflection. My long, caramel colored hair was flat, dull, and a bit singed at the ends. There were dark circles under my brown eyes. Overall, my face looked pale. I took a shaky breath and got my emotions and nerves under control. I saw that there was a set of clean clothes on the sink counter that looked about my size. I quickly changed out of my burned and filthy clothes. The shirt and pants were a bit small, but it worked for now.

Steve had said ask JARVIS to show me where the main floor was.

"Um, JARVIS?" I asked into open space, feeling a little stupid.

"_Yes Miss Kensire?_" JARVIS replied.

I cringed at the sound of my anagrammed last name. "Um, could you show me where the main floor is?"

"_Of course. There is a hallway with an elevator right outside your room. Press the button for the top floor, which is the main floor,_" JARVIS instructed me.

"Thanks...JARVIS," I said. I found the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. Who was going to be up there? Oh gosh, if all of the Avengers are waiting for me at the top, I'm probably going to turn into a stuttering mess.

I tapped my foot against the floor anxiously. I hoped that Steve wasn't up there. I really wanted to explain everything to him, just not in front of everyone.

When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, I found myself looking at all of the Avengers minus Steve sitting on couches, talking with each other. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to announce myself. Luckily, a woman with red hair (probably Black Widow) noticed me and whispered to the others.

"Hello," I said awkwardly.

"Hey, how're you feeling? That explosion was pretty impressive. We all could see it from here," the woman with red hair said. "I'm Natasha Romanoff," she introduced, sticking out her hand.

I shook her hand. "I'm Adalina," I said, leaving out my last name.

"So I've heard," Natasha replied.

"Let me guess, you're Tony Stark," I said, pointing towards a man in an expensive looking suit. "And you're Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, and Thor Odinson," I reasoned, gesturing at each of them in turn.

"Wow, you must've been studying up," Tony said with a smirk.

"Can I just say that I've been studying up on your work for years?" I said to Bruce. "I'm a...well, I guess I'm an aspiring scientist."

"Thanks, what science do you study?" he asked me.

"Uh, I majored in a bunch of different sciences and medicine. So kind of like a jack-of-all trades," I replied, shrugging.

He nodded. "Impressive."

"I'm afraid I don't understand this talk of 'science'," Thor said with a frown.

Clint cleared his throat impatiently. "Don't we have more important things to talk about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, go ahead," I said, blushing.

"We were just talking about HYDRA," Tony said. "Why would they target you?"

I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. "Um..."

Clint leaned forward. "I have a feeling that you know more than you're letting on."

I crossed my arms and sighed. "Okay, I might as well spill. I'm...Adalina Erskine."

For a second, no one said anything.

"Erskine...where have I heard that before?" Tony asked, tapping on his head.

"That's the guy who originally created the super soldier serum," Natasha said, narrowing her eyes at me. "Didn't your dad work with him?"

Tony snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, that dude. You're related to him?" he asked me in disbelief.

I squirmed under the scrutiny of everyone's eyes on me. "I'm his great granddaughter."

"Correct me if I am wrong, but you are related to the man who crafted the serum that made Lord Steven Captain America?" Thor asked, confirming everyone's suspicions.

"Yes," I sighed.

"Did you tell Steve?" Bruce asked, taking off his glasses. "He must be pretty psyched about this."

"Um, yes I did..." I trailed off.

Bruce didn't pursue the matter anymore, but I think he could tell that it hadn't gone so well.

"And may I ask why you didn't share this information before?" Natasha asked me.

"I couldn't," I said softly, feeling that everyone was going to start grilling me with questions. "Um, is there a place where I can be alone for a few minutes?" I asked quickly.

"You could go to the rooftop, but..."

Before Tony finished his sentence, I was already running to the elevator and heading up to the roof.

I slid to the floor of the elevator, putting my face in my hands. Everything that had just happened in the past couple of hours was starting to make me feel overwhelmed.

* * *

**Authors Note: Woohoo! Another chapter posted. Sorry I haven't posted lately, I've been reaaaally busy. I actually just got a new tumblr that I'm going to post a bunch edits of pictures. Just type in TheFallenNightAngel and add tumblr . com (without the spaces). Tell me what you think of my edits! Anyways, what do you think of Adalina meeting the Avengers? There's so much more to come...**


	8. Chapter 8: Stay

I forced myself to not fall apart completely. I couldn't. I wouldn't let these people think I'm a crying idiot. I can't have the Avengers pitying me.

When the elevator stopped, I found myself on the gigantic rooftop of Stark Tower. It had a perfect panoramic view of New York City. Even though I was upset, I couldn't help but smile at the fantastic view.

I walked towards the edge and leaned over the railing. Being this close to the edge probably made a lot of people freak out, but it was fine with me. I liked feeling the wind rush around me and watching the city life from above. I closed my eyes, trying to block out everything that had happened in the past hours. I looked up when I heard footsteps. I turned and saw Steve standing further down, doing the same thing I was. I started to back away, not sure if he saw me or not.

"You don't have to go," he said, turning to look at me.

I stopped in my tracks. "Are you sure? I can leave," I said uncertainly.

He nodded silently and looked back out at the city.

I went over to stand next to him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I said, glancing at him quickly.

"I'm sorry that I kind of flipped out," he said, giving me a small smile. "I thought about it and...you were right to keep it a secret. I wasn't thinking right."

Right in that moment, it felt like a gigantic weight was lifted off my shoulders. "R-really?" I asked in disbelief. "You're serious? You're not yanking my chain?"

Steve let out a laugh. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

"It means 'are you kidding me?'," I said, realizing that he probably never heard that expression before.

"In that case, no, I'm not," he replied.

I leaned against the railing and let out a breath. "What a relief," I muttered. "You had me worried there for a second. I thought I was gonna have to find a new friend to blab about pi to," I said, smiling.

He shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll still be your pi friend," he said in amusement.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"So you're related to good ol' Abe, huh?" Steve said, looking at me.

"Yeeeaaah," I said with a nod. "That's where all the brains come from."

"So...your whole family is related to him?" he asked curiously.

"Well actually, everyone who was descended from him only had one child. So him and my great-grandmother had my grandmother, then my grandmother had my mother, then my mother had me. So not much of a family," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Have you always known or did your mother tell you when you were older? Does your dad know?"

I fell silent. Talking about my mother was a hard thing for me to do. But I knew that Steve wanted to know everything he could about the man who made him who he was. I think he deserved that. "I knew when I was old enough to comprehend it. And actually, my dad left us when I was very little and...my mom died when I was 16," I said, looking down at the floor of the roof.

Steve had a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm sorry Adalina, I didn't mean to bring something like that up," he said apologetically.

I shook my head. "No, it's okay."

"Tell me if this is a stupid question, but has anyone in your family ever tried to recreate the super soldier serum?" he asked.

"No, it's too risky," I said. "Everyone who's tried to recreate it has failed."

Steve nodded. "I can understand that." He seemed to drop the topic, not wanting to push for any more answers yet. "So what's your next move?"

I gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? My apartment building is now a pile of ashes and I've only got a handful of things I own. I'm basically homeless," I said.

"Not exactly," he said. "You could stay here at the tower. It's not like we don't have enough space."

Being the person I was, I was hesitant to take his offer. After all, I was raised to never really accept charity.

"That's alright, I'm sure I can find somewhere to stay," I said, waving my hand.

Steve sighed and shook his head. "I'm not letting you go out by yourself. It's too dangerous. HYDRA could track you easily. If you stay here, you're guaranteed some sort of safety."

I frowned. When he put it like that, staying here seemed like a better idea. "Fine. But I have to help out, I'm not gonna be one of those free-loading guest," I said, crossing my arms.

"Fine with me, just make me a cup of coffee once in a while," he said, smiling at me.

"Whatever you say Captain," I said jokingly. 

* * *

**Authors Note: -pokes head into the world of fanfiction- Helloooo, anyone still there? I'm SO SO SO sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. I've started school and I've got so much on my plate right now. The amount of schoolwork I have is ridiculous. I PROMISE I will try to make more of an effort to update both this story and Life Out the Window. Thank you for your patience and again, I'm sorry. :(**


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